American Medical Association's
New Recommendations for
Nutritional Supplements
The American Medical Association (AMA) now recommends
the consumption of daily vitamins as a standard part of a preventative
health care program. The new guidelines represent a paradigm shift for
the AMA, which has in the past only recommended vitamin supplements
for special populations (such as pregnant women) or for certain individuals
with clearly defined nutritional deficiencies.
The AMA's new guidelines are not limited to any specific population
group, or to those with nutritional deficiencies. The guidelines state
that even people who maintain a healthy diet that is low fat, high fiber,
and includes lots of antioxidant rich foods (fruits and vegetables)
should supplement their diet with vitamins every day.
The position statement was issued for the AMA by Michael J. Glade, Ph.D.
of the AMA's Department of Technology Assessment. It states that daily
supplements can be safely used to obtain the amount of nutrients that
are needed over and above a well-balanced, nutritious diet to provide
optimal health benefits.
Significance to Club Industry
These new guidelines have great significance for the health and fitness
club industry. First, many clubs have avoided selling nutritional supplements
to members because in the past it was controversial whether such supplements
were beneficial or necessary for good health. Now, that controversy
is essentially over. The American Medical Association is the most conservative
and respected medical body in the United States, and does not issue
such blanket recommendations without a consensus among medical leadership.
Second, many clubs have wanted to sell nutritional supplements, but
felt they could not do it unless they had a nutrition professional conducting
detailed dietary analysis of individuals to determine any areas of nutritional
deficiencies. Now, the AMA's new guidelines show that such analysis
is not required for health professionals to recommend nutritional supplements.
The AMA guidelines follow other similar guidelines issued by leading
health authorities in the past two years. In January, the American Dietetic
Association issued a new position statement on vitamin and mineral supplementation,
which states that vitamin and mineral supplementation is appropriate
when well supported by scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.
This recommendation was followed by stronger recommendations by several
leading medical schools such as Harvard, Cal-Berkeley, and Columbia,
which state that all adults, including healthy people who eat healthy
diets can optimize their health through the consumption of vitamin supplements.
Harvard researchers have gone so far as to say that failure to consume
certain supplementary vitamins is equal to the risk of smoking.
